


we could stay-

by ShippingEverything



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Humanstuck, M/M, Netflix and Chill, POV Second Person, its just a lot of making out and dryhumping fellas, theyre Canon 19 and i'd imagine that theyre seniors in this hs au but! underage for Safety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:15:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22415335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingEverything/pseuds/ShippingEverything
Summary: Brother and friends firmly dealt with, you pull out your phone and send a simple text of your own:I am going to be watching a movie tonight while my brother and his friends yell and do whatever else children their age do on weeknights upstairs, as my father has gone out with Ms. Leijon and is likely to return late, if at all.There’s a brief moment before you get a response, like the person on the other end was sitting in their bedroom, part of their attention dedicated to pretending to know how to play a guitar but mostly just waiting for you to text.got it chief, the reply reads, and a smile flickers across your face.Or: Your name is Kankri Vantas and your father may be out for the night, but a certain wannabe greaser is in
Relationships: Cronus Ampora/Kankri Vantas
Comments: 2
Kudos: 79





	we could stay-

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Untitled Cronkri (2013)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/553699) by pldubrahs. 



> i almost cant believe i'm writing homestuck fic in 2020 but! almost seven years ago, i wrote a cronkri fic on tumblr and i like to think i'm at least a Little bit better at writing now than i was then, so i challenged myself to rewrite the fic. this is... a lot less Soft and Innocent than the first version was (they kissed like TWICE in the original and mostly just. cuddled and watched a movie with karkat and john. 2013 lydia was so different) but i like it, i think. 
> 
> title from Fall Out Boy's _Alone Together_
> 
> please enjoy!

“I’m only going to be gone a couple of hours, alright?” Your father says as he pulls on his coat by the door. You stand straight-backed and nod. Your brother slouches at the foot of the stairs beside you and rolls his eyes.

“ _Sure_ ,” Karkat says, sarcasm coating his every syllable, “Just text us when you decide you’re staying the night at the Leijons’.”

“I’m not- who even- why would you-?” Your father splutters, flustered. “ _Listen_ , that’s _none_ of your business. _Anyway_ ,” He says, regaining control of himself, “No parties, no guests, Kankri’s in charge.”

“I take the responsibility incredibly seriously, father,” You say dutifully. Karkat rolls his eyes again, this time with a dramatic full-body motion. You ignore him.

“Great. Please don’t destroy the house while I’m gone.” Your father says, as he always does when he goes out on what he refuses to call Date Nights. Karkat mutters something expletive-filled but you merely smile, waving goodbye as your father walks out the door. You continue to stand there, watching through the window as his car starts and pulls off. You watch until it disappears around the corner, then you look down at Karkat.

“All clear,” You say.

Your name is Kankri Vantas and you are in charge for the night.

“Cool, I’m going to my room, don’t fucking bother me,” He says, but you can see that he’s already on his phone. You have no doubt that he’ll be back downstairs welcoming in a gaggle of his little friends in less than half an hour, which means that you have some time to kill. You don't send any texts but keep your phone close by just in case. You do your homework, eat some of the lasagna that your father prepared for you and your brother, and search through the family movie collection. There are a lot of romcoms.

It is, if you’re being honest, mostly romcoms.

But you knew that before you started looking because you’ve gone through your family’s movies with almost alarming frequency of late.

Regardless, you pick out a movie, put it into the DVD player, and wait. Eventually, you hear a knock on the door, but before you can open it or call him down, Karkat stomps downstairs, scowling.

“Can you douchenozzles not read a _simple fucking text_? I said not to knock, jesus fucking christ,” Karkat says.

“Language,” You chide, mostly reflexively, as you walk up. There are five children outside your door, including the youngest Maryam, who is holding a pizza box and avoiding your eye. You wonder how she got her mother to let her out of the house on a school night, but decide it’s very much not your business. Still, you’ll probably text Porrim about it later, just to check.

“Shut the fuck up,” Karkat snaps back, likely also only on reflex. This is a dance you both do often.

“Hi, Karkat’s brother,” One of the kids, a girl in blue, says. You can’t stop your mouth from twitching into a slight frown.

The kids know your name, you _know_ they know your name, and yet they insist on calling you _‘Karkat’s older brother.’_

“My name is Kankri,” You say, despite all this.

The girl grins and Karkat snaps out a quick, “Yeah, no, we aren’t fucking doing this tonight,” and ushers the all of them in and up the stairs, shooting a quick, “Text me if dad’s actually coming home,” to you over his shoulder.

You nod, agreeing to your side of the unspoken Date Night agreement you two have. There’s a sense of comradery in breaking this one rule; others you won’t allow -- even five friends are pushing the “no party” rule in ways that you’ll detail to Karkat in a thoughtfully crafted note tomorrow -- but this one... Well, it has benefits for everyone.

Brother and friends firmly dealt with, you pull out your phone and send a simple text of your own: _**I am going to be watching a movie tonight while my brother and his friends yell and do whatever else children their age do on weeknights upstairs, as my father has gone out with Ms. Leijon and is likely to return late, if at all.**_

There’s a brief moment before you get a response, like the person on the other end was sitting in their bedroom with part of their attention dedicated to pretending to know how to play the guitar but mostly just waiting for you to text. _**got it chief**_ , the reply reads, and a smile flickers across your face. Ten minutes later, you hear the sound of a hot rod roaring past your house and around the corner, gaudy and loud with a royal purple finish. You stand, making your way into the kitchen and opening the back door in time to watch Cronus Ampora trip over your neighbor’s hose and his own untied Chuck Taylors. He recovers easily enough and saunters the rest of the way between the yards and to your door, hips swinging as his expression melts into a smirk like an ice cube on a stovetop.

“Hey there, doll,” He says as soon as he gets close enough to speak to you quietly. Your face scrunches, but he laughs and cuts you off before you can begin _yet another_ treatise on how calling you doll is rude and embarrassing. “I know, I know, K. Won’t do it again.”

He _will_ , almost certainly. You let him in anyway. You leave him in the living room to call up the stairs, “Karkat, do you want any lasagna?”

It’s a test, both to see if Karkat can hear you from the bottom of the stairs and to see if he’s hungry enough that he’ll want something from down here in the next hour or so.

“Fuck off!” Karkat yells back, over a chorus of laughter. You don’t roll your eyes, because you’re not your brother, but you _do_ add another paragraph to the note -- no, _email_ , it would probably work better as an email rather than a series of post-its on his door by now -- that you’re going to leave him tomorrow. You return to the living room and press play on the movie. You barely even remember what you’ve put in at this point but you give yourself a moment to stare at the screen as the blonde love interest starts her day and rushes around her office, and to take a deep but subtle breath, before you turn back to Cronus.

Cronus is sprawled upon the couch, one leg spread across all three cushions while the other hangs onto the ground and the rest of his body sags against the arm, barely moving as he boredly scrolls on his phone. He’s shed his leather jacket and wears a purposely distressed t-shirt that you know he cut the sleeves off himself. You clear your throat.

“Am I going to be allowed to sit down?” You ask. Cronus smirks and you immediately continue, “If you even begin to offer your lap as an acceptable place to sit-”

“Relax, K, I would _never_ do somethin‘ so -- what’s the word? -- _demeaning_.”

You raise an eyebrow, begrudgingly impressed. “Yes, demeaning is the right word there.”

Cronus flashes you a shark’s smile as he rearranges himself to take a reasonable amount of space on the couch. “See, I know all my lingo, chief. Talk at a guy enough and _anyone_ can pick up your social justice stuff.”

Your jaw tightens at his words but you make yourself relax. You don’t hang out with Cronus Ampora for his aptitude at activism. You, in fact, don’t hang out with Cronus Ampora at all.

Except for movie nights.

Behind you, the movie plays on and though you’re not watching it, you know what’s happening: a proposed article shot down, a bet and courtside basketball tickets, the consoling of a recently dumped best friend. You’ve seen this one many times because Karkat and your father have unfortunate affinities for them. You, at least, have the decency to keep misogynistic, predictable, degrading things as a rarely indulged guilty pleasure.

You take a seat beside Cronus. Far enough apart that your bodies do not touch but close enough that you can feel the heat from the arm Cronus has thrown over the back of the couch. You sit, back straight, hands in your lap. You can feel Cronus looking at you. The fingers on your left hand twitch against your pant leg.

“Kankri,” Cronus starts to whine, but you cut him off with a shush.

“I am _watching_ the _movie_.”

“Is that how we’re gonna play it tonight?” Cronus asks. When you hum in the affirmative, he huffs childishly. You’re surprised that he doesn’t cross his arms and stamp his feet too. “Fine then.”

It’s quiet for a moment, Matthew McConaughey the only voice in the room, before Cronus clears his throat and says, “So, uh, what’s this movie about anyway?”

Your eye twitches. You wish it didn’t but you know it did and you can almost feel the waves of smug glee radiating from Cronus as he shifts ever so slightly closer to you. You hate explaining movies while the movie is playing, but you suppose that since you did make him miss a bit of the beginning, it’s only fair that you help him out.

“She writes how-to articles for a women’s magazine but she wants to do hard investigative reporting, and he’s a marketing executive who’s trying to get a deal to represent a diamond seller,” You explain.

“Alright,” Cronus says, his thigh meeting yours as he leans in, voice pitched low so you can still pay attention to the movie over his questions. “How’d they meet again?”

“The women at his workplace -- they’re both named Judy -- asked him to prove that he understood romance so he could acquire the diamond deal from them, and then tricked him into choosing her as the woman he would ’woo‘.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes!” You exclaim, shoulders rising in annoyance at the lack of attention Cronus is paying to the movie. When they fall again, Cronus’ arm slips over them. “ _She_ is trying to sabotage a relationship for her column, so he’d never be able to sincerely start a relationship with her, even if he _wasn’t_ approaching her under false pretenses.”

“Uh-huh, got it. One more question,” Cronus says, voice shockingly close to your ear. You turn and he is- close. _Very_ close. Your breath catches in shock. “How many times have you seen this one?”

“I haven’t-”

“Come on, Vantas, don’t lie to me,” He says, whispers, inching ever closer to you. Your mouth feels suddenly dry and you lick your lips, watching Cronus’ eyes track the movement. “Hey, Kankri?”

“Yes?” You prompt, voice barely a murmur. Cronus’ nose touches yours.

“I really don’t care about this movie.”

What happens next is inevitable. You wish you could say that Cronus kisses you and you’re entirely taken unaware. You wish, even, that you could say you don't know who moved first. Unfortunately, you know that it was _you_ who saw the look in Cronus’ eyes, who felt the heat of his body and smelled his ridiculous expensive cologne and leaned in, unable to keep up an uninterested face any longer. You go to kiss him and Cronus happily meets you, easy and hot and just what you wanted, wonderful enough as he bites at your lip and runs a hand through your hair that you barely even mind that you can feel the smug twist of his mouth against your own. You shift to get closer, to get a better angle to map the shape of his mouth, eventually giving up all decorum and tossing a leg over him to slide into his lap.

“Not a word,” You say.

Cronus raises his hands in surrender though his eyes still flash with mirth. “I’m not the one with the talkin' problem, chief.”

You kiss him again to shut him up. Admittedly, the way he licks into your mouth, how his hands slide over your hips and his fingers edge under your sweater, they’re all enticing, but they’re all particularly nice pluses when the main concern is occupying his mouth with something else. Your pocket buzzes and you think, somewhat vaguely, _Oh, my phone. I need to get that._

“One second,” You say, and Cronus immediately starts to whine. You only manage to pull your phone out of your pocket before Cronus decides to switch his energy from whining to paying attention to your neck, taking care to suck and bite only at places that will be under your usual turtleneck’s coverage.

Suddenly, you’re no longer worried about your phone.

 _It’s fine_ , You think, dropping your phone to the carpet and shoving a fist into your mouth as Cronus presses an open-mouthed kiss to your jawline, _Whatever’s happening can wait._ You weave a hand into Cronus’ gel-stiff hair, mussing it as you _tug_ to get Cronus’ mouth back up to yours. Cronus groans, low and needy and cut off as you greedily swallow the sound. From your perch on his lap, you can feel that Cronus’ whole body is _very_ interested in the proceedings; you don’t grind down because that would be undignified, but even a slight shift of your weight is enough to make Cronus’ hips jerk.

“ _Jesus fucking christ_ , Kankri,” Cronus gasps into your mouth, “You’re gonna kill me.”

Something like pride fills your chest as something like interest warms your stomach. You shift again. “Am I?”

“ _Fuck_ , alright, lemme just,” Cronus starts brokenly before gripping your thighs and easily laying you onto the couch before leaning over you, arms bracketing your head. “This okay?”

You throw a leg around his waist and an arm around his neck, pulling him closer. “I find it perfectly acceptable.”

“I’ll show you ‘ _acceptable’_ ,” Cronus says with a roll of his eyes before he’s kissing you again, his whole body a warm, shifting weight against your own. When he grinds into the couch, into you, you arch into it, heel digging into the small of his back.

You aren’t sure how long you’re there, kissing and rocking against one another, but eventually you hear a faint rumble over the now-ignored sounds of your movie. It sounds familiar, and something inside you, a part of your mind that’s somehow been able to retain its ability to think about anything but the sensations you’re experiencing now, says _Pay attention!_ You reluctantly shift some of your focus to listening, allowing Cronus to go back to mouthing at your neck; it takes you a moment but you’re able to remember that it’s the sound of a car pulling up to the house. You jolt with shock and horror as you place it even more specifically as the sound of _your father’s car_.

“ _Fuck_.”

Cronus leans back on his haunches, eyes wide. “Kankri Vantas, did you just _curse_?”

“Now is _not_ _the time_ ,” You reply, pulling him back down and out of view from anyone who might look into your living room windows. “On the floor, now.”

“Are you being bossy now? Is that the move?” Cronus asks, laughing.

You don’t have time to explain or deal with his humor as you see the shadow of your father pass by, so you just shove him off the couch and cut off his grumbling by saying “My _father_ is _home_.”

Cronus presses himself flatter to the ground. “Oh, _fuck_.”

“Exactly. Stay down and stay quiet, I can handle this,” You say as the lock turns. Cronus nods and mimes zipping his lips. Your father enters the house.

“Karkat? Kankri? You guys up?” Your father asks, kicking his shoes off. You sit up, hoping you look more sleep-rumpled than hand-mussed.

“Oh, father,” You say, affecting a yawn. “You’re home early.”

“Yeah, Di- er, Ms. Leijon, she felt sick, so we decided to call it a night,” He says. Cronus, from his spot lying completely flat and _supposedly_ still, taps on your knee. Your father is not looking at you, busy removing his shoes and coat, so you entertain Cronus with a glance. He’s pointing at a nearby chair over which he threw his jacket, but you know it’s out of eye-line from the foyer so you shake your head subtly, eyes still on your father, and emphatically gesture something you hope he interprets correctly as _stay still_. Your father says, “I texted you.”

You think of your phone, on the carpet under Cronus, and curse past Kankri. “Ah. You must’ve sent it after I’d already fallen asleep.”

“It’s bad for your back to sleep down here,” Your father says, muffled as he opens the coat closet. “What were you doing anyway?”

 _Nothing really, despite my best efforts_ , thinks a sullen and _unnecessary_ part of your mind. The rest of you clears your throat. “I had just been watching a movie.”

“Which one?”

It takes you a beat longer than it should to remember. It feels like there’s been a millennium of kissing Cronus between you picking out the movie and now. “How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days.”

“Oh, that one! I really-” Your father turns to you finally and pauses for a moment. When he continues, his voice is more disbelieving. “How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, huh?”

“Yes,” You answer, off-put by his tone. The movie is still playing on the television behind you, so you’re not sure why he’s acting like it’s out of the realm of possibility. Somewhat defensively, you continue, “It’s one of my favorites.”

Cronus doesn’t laugh, because he values his life and is _staying quiet_ , but you can see how he tenses like he’s holding in laughter in your peripheral vision. It takes _effort_ not to scowl at him.

“Mhm. Well, you should probably be getting to bed soon.”

“Will do.” You say, and then you stare at your father with a fixed smile as he watches you with a raised eyebrow. It is the most stressful minute of your life. Eventually, he shakes his head and smiles.

“Alright. Goodnight, Kankri,” Your father says, and you reply in kind. You sink into the couch in relief, sharing a still-panicked _we did it_ look with Cronus.

“Oh, and Kankri?”

You freeze and pop back up at the sound of your father’s voice. You can't see him as he's speaking while walking up the stairs. “Yes?”

“Next time, make sure that your friend isn’t taller than the couch is long.”

Your eyes dart to the floor and catch on Cronus’ _stupid_ candy cane socks are far past the edge of the couch, where they can definitely be seen from the foyer. “I-”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, I’m too tired for this right now. Night, kiddo.”

You facepalm, with both hands for good measure. Below you, Cronus whispers, “Sorry.”

“You should just… Go, please. I’ll,” you run a hand down your face, embarrassment quickly overpowering whatever brief bits of relief you felt. “I suppose I’ll text you, after I speak to my father.”

Cronus nods and you help him to his feet. You walk him to the door, at which point he asks, “So… no more movie nights?”

You tighten your jaw so hard that your teeth ache. “Are you _seriously_ thinking about that right now?”

“Yes- No- I mean, okay, _yes_ , I’m wondering about like, _this_ , about hookin’ up and shit, but also, I’m gonna… miss hanging out with you,” Cronus says, looking out into the yard rather than at you, which is good because your face feels hotter than it ever has before and you’re sure you must look ridiculous. “We don’t talk at school, obviously, so this was the only time I got to spend with you in person, y’know.”

“I-” You open and close your mouth in shock. “ _Cronus_ -”

“But I’m _also_ gonna miss touching that sweet ass of yours,” Cronus continues, absolutely _destroying_ the mood.

“ _Go_.”

“You’re cute when you’re pissed,” Cronus says. You scowl, but still lean into it when he kisses you goodbye. Everyone has their vices. “See you, doll.”

Your splutters drown out his laughter as he books it for his car. To his retreating back, you hiss, maybe too loud for this time of night but _absolutely_ necessary, “ _Don’t call me doll!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> a note: unlike kankri, karkat Did check his phone, so he had rose on the lookout for his dads car. When they saw him coming, they all hid in his closet Just In Case, but papa vantas didnt even check karkat's room before going to bed because he was too exhausted by kankri's shenanigans
> 
> anyway thank you for reading this silly thing, i hope you enjoyed it! comments, kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated.
> 
> [Main Tumblr (pldubrahs)](http://www.pldubrahs.tumblr.com) | [Writing Tumblr (nacreousglowclouds)](http://nacreousglowclouds.tumblr.com/) | [Personal Twitter (@squidias)](http://twitter.com/squidias)


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